Lined container



1967 c. E. STUDEN LINED CONTAINER Filed April 21, 1966 CORRUGATED BOARD11 INVENTOR.

. ATT YS.

United States Patent 3,344,973 LINED CONTAINER Charles E. Studen, RD. 1,Pekin Road, Newbury, Ohio 44065 Filed Apr. 21, 1966, Ser. No. 544,235 5Claims. (Cl. 229-37) This invention relates to a new type of containermaterial and method of constructing the same. More specifically, thisinvention relates to a composite material for containers which has aresinous foam on its interior surfaces to insulate any goods containedtherein from moisture and thermal and mechanical shock.

Cartons exist which are custom-made for shipping extremely delicategoods. They are usually filled or lined with some type of shockabsorbent which is formed to the contour of the article to betransported. The cost of these custom-made boxes, relative to thestandard cardboard box, is extremely high.

Standard cardboard boxes are usually cut in blank form and have nopadding whatsoever. These boxes are usually used to ship articles whichare substantially resistant to mechanical shock and temperature change.

In addition to the standard cardboard boxes, it is also known to usesections of loose resinous foam to pad the sides, top and/or bottom ofthe standard card-. board box. While this configuration may be usefulwhen the box is nearly full, it has definite disadvantages when the boxis relatively empty. This is because the loose resinous foam sectionstend to fall away from the sides and the top when there is nothing tohold them in place. The result is that the padding is of essentially nouse since it falls away from the sides of the box, thus making thecontents vulnerable to the damage which would normally occur inan-un-padded box. Furthermore, such loose sections of resinous foam areeasily lost after the box had been opened and the contents removed forthe first time.

None of the above cartons may be readily used for shipping goods whichare delicate but not exceptionally fragile and/ or have a need fortemperature and moisture insulation. An example of this type of good isa printed circuit. Printed circuits are not what could be calledextremely fragile and yet do have copper wiring so that any abrupt orhard shock, especially in extremely cold weather, would be harmful.

Another area in which this type of carton would be useful is thepackaging of glass articles. Such novelty items as glass piggy banksmust be shipped in padded cartons and .yet are not so fragile that theyrequire extensive padding. When shipping inexpensive'items as this, thecost of custom-made containers would be prohibitive since the packagewould cost more than any possible breakage.

There is also a high probability that glass will break when subjected tolarge temperature variations over a short period of time. Proper thermalinsulation greatly reduces this danger.

Thermal insulation is also important to manufacturers of frozen goodswho ship their products in cartons. Frozen goods may be temporarily in awarm atmosphere, for example while sitting on docks, and it is necessarythat they will not immediately thaw. The containers for such frozengoods, while not extremely fragile, are generally Weak enough that theywould be injured upon rough handling.

Candy is another commodity which must be insulated from highertemperatures and mechanical shocks. Candy, of course, would be severelydamaged by high temperature and is also relatively fragile.

The present invention provides a carton adapted to contain the abovematerials and others, which is insulated to both thermal and mechanicalshock as well as moisture.

3,3443 73 Patented" Oct. 3, 1967 In this manner, it proposes to preservethose semi-fragile items from damage incurred by moisture, rapidtemperature changes and mechanical shocks in transportation and instorage.

The present invention provides for a box blank which is formed of acomposite material. The material comprises corrugated board and aresinous foam attached by a suitable cement. The resinous foam, usuallyan expanded polyethylene, polyurethane or polystyrene, is cut to thesame area dimensions of the pieces of laminated cardboard. The resinousfoam extends over the inner surfaces of the box including the walls, topand bottom and flaps.

The use of a composite material in forming a box blank provides nearlythe same protection as custom fitting the foam padding in a box to fit agiven commodity. On the other hand, the present invention is vastlysuperior to the use of loose sections of foam placed in a box around thearticle to be shipped or stored. By attaching the foam to the sides, asmall article may be shipped in a relatively large carton without anyconcern whether the padding will shift or be lost. Of course, it alsohas the advantage in that after use, the box may be again collapsed toits blank form and stored with relative ease. In any form fitted box orwhere the foam is merely loose in the box, this would not be possible.

The process of forming the box is cementing of the resinous foam to theinner surfaces of the corrugated board, cutting the combined corrugatedboard and resinous foam to the proper size, and slitting and creasing itso that it will have the requisite flaps and sides. The boxes may thenbe folded according to the creases provided in the foam and corrugatedboard and the flaps secured by adhesive tape.

FIG. 1 is a cut away portion of a slab of the composite materialprovided according to the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a partially folded box embodying thepresent invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the box taken along 33 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the box blank embodying the present inventionbeing cut and creased but not folded into the box of FIGS. 2 and 3.

FIG. 1 illustrates a corrugated board generally indicated by the numeral10 which includes two paper strips or skins 11 and 12 separated by afluted or corrugated internal member 13. The different parts of thecorrugated board are pasted or cemented together by adhesives inconventional manner.

The corrugated board 10 has a layer of adhesive or cement 15. The cementmay generally be any common type of material which will readily adhereto both corrugated board and resinous foam. The cement should have suchcharacteristics that will allow sustained use of the box with relativelydrastic thermal and mechanical shocks. That is, the cement should beable to withstand temperatures without chemical change ranging fromapproximately twenty below zero to over a hundred degrees Fahrenheit.Similarly, the cement should not be of the type which will readily loseits adhesion due to age or moisture to either the corrugated board orresinous foam. Examples of such adhesives are the various resin cements.

The resinous foam blank 17 is generally cut to coincide with the shapeof the corrugated board blank 10. The resinous foam 17 is laminated tothe corrugated board by means of the cement 15. However, it is alsoanticipated that the resinous foam may be attached to the corrugatedboards by a mechanical means such as staples, tacks, nails, etc.

The resinous foam 17 that is generally used is expanded polyethylene,polyurethane or polystyrene. Expanded polyethylene or polyurethane hasbeen chosen for use in this invention because it has a closed cellstructure which is essentially moisture proof, is light weight,flexible, and has an excellent compatibility with the range of chemicaland physical environments which are usually encountered in suchcommercial applications as are anticipated. This material also hasexcellent strength, chemical stability, flexibility and compressibilityover a wide temperature range. Some other characteristics which are ofprimary interest of the expanded polyethylene and its use in the presentinvention include the fact that this material has a good thermal andmechanical insulation value, no odor, no toxicological effects and iseasily cut and formed. Other advantages of this material is that it hasa certain buoyancy and absorbs vibrations.

Expanded polystyrene is also used as the foam 17 since it has similarproperties as that of the expanded polyethylene. That is, the expandedpolystyrene is light weight, has a low density, is water resistant, isrelatively strong, is shock absorbent, and has a low coeflicient ofthermal conductivity. However, it is not as easily formed by creasingand cutting as polyethylene. While suitable for most purposes,polystyrene does have a tendency to crack with repeated bending.

Furthermore, expanded polyethylene, polyurethane and polystyrene areexceptionally resistant to chemical change from solvents and otherchemical substances which may be contained within the package hereindescribed. All of the materials have a tendency to melt away from firerather than actually burn. This minimizes any danger of loss of materialdue to fire. However, it has been established that when subjected to anopen continuous flame, that all of the materials will burn at a slowrate of approximately 2.5 inches per minute.

FIG. 2 indicates a partially folded box embodying the present invention.That is, a resinous foam 17 is cemented to a corrugated board blank overthe entire inner surfaces of the box. The box shown in FIG. 2 isgenerally referred to as 20. The box 20 has cutouts which generally formflaps 21, 22, 23 and 24. The fiaps are creased as at 26 in order tofacilitate the bending of the flap to form the the box. The crease wouldbe placed in both the resinous foam 17 and the corrugated board blank10. In order to have the box maintain a stable configuration, the sidesof the box blank are usually taped such as that shown at 27. The tape 27would hold sides 28 and 29 together. Similar tape or other means formaintaining the sides in a congruent relationship are anticipated suchas staples, clamping means, and the like. A sealing strip or tape couldalso be used to seal the box by placing it across the flaps 21 and 22once they are in a proximate relationship.

FIG. 3 is a sectional taken along 33 of FIG. 2. In FIG. 3 the flap 22 isfolded down and is adjacent to flap 21. The flaps 21 and 22 are securedby a tape 27 in a down position. Flaps 23 and 24 are covered by theflaps 21 and 22.

The sides 29 and 30 are supported by the bottom of the box. It is formedsimilar to the top portion and has flaps 32 and 35 which aresubstantially covered from the sides by flaps 33 and 34. Tape 27 of sometype again holds the longitudinal flaps 33 and 34 in adjacentrelationship.

It is seen from FIG. 3 that all the inner surfaces have at least onelayer of resinous foam facing the inside of the box. The top and bottomportion of the box has two layers of resinous foam because of thedifferent flaps over some of its area.

FIG. 4 indicates the box of FIG. 3 in its blank form. That is, the box20 has been cut at 36, 37, 38, 39, 40 and 41 to form the various flapsshown on the top portion as 21 through 24. The box 20 is then creased at26 so that the resinous foam and corrugated board will bend at thedesired places. The creases may be made along lines parallel to the topand bottom length of the blank, at a distance from the top and bottomequal to the length of the slits 36 through 41. Crea'ses are also madealong the width of the blank from the inner ends of the slits.

It is intended that the form of the box illustrated is only by Way ofexample and the scope of the present invention should be determined onlyby the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A box blank formed of a composite material which acts as aninsulation against moisture and mechanical and thermal shock, saidcomposite material comprising:

corrugated board;

resinous foam; and

cement attaching said corrugated board and said resinous foam;

said composite material being appropriately cut and creased in order toencourage bending along certain predetermined lines.

2. The box blank of claim 1 wherein said resinous foam is expandedpolyethylene.

3. The box blank of claim .1 wherein said resinous foam is expandedpolyurethane.

4. The box blank of claim 1 wherein said resinous foam is expandedpolystyrene.

5. The box blank of claim 2 wherein said expanded polyethylene iscemented over all interior surfaces of said corrugated board.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,087,966 7/1937 Clark 22914 X2,973,295 2/1961 Rodgers. 2,979,246 4/ 1961 Liebeskind. 2,983,636 5/1961Rumton. 3,057,766 10/ 1962 Dickey. 3,070,281 12/1962 Durkim et a1 2293.5X 3,085,731 4/ 1963 Wilkins. 3,236,206 2/ 1966 Willinger 22914 X3,240,845 3/1966 Voelker 2293.5 X 3,303,603 2/ 1967 Abeson 20646 XFOREIGN PATENTS 1,134,599 12/1956 France.

854,123 11/1960 Great Britain.

JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner.

DAVIS T. MOORHEAD, Examiner;

1. A BOX BLANK FORMED OF A COMPOSITE MATERIAL WHICH ACTS AS ANINSULATION AGAINST MOISTURE AND MECHANICAL AND THERMAL SHOCK, SAIDCOMPOSITE MATERIAL COMPRISING: CORRUGATED BOARD; RESINOUS FOAM; ANDCEMENT ATTACHING SAID CORRUGATED BOARD AND SAID RESINOUS FOAM; SAIDCOMPOSITE MATERIAL BEING APPROPRIATELY CUT AND CREASED IN ORDER TOENCOURAGE BENDING ALONG CERTAIN PREDETERMINED LINES.